A delegation of US defense contractors and a former senior leader of the US Marine Corps yesterday pledged the beginning of deeper cooperation with Taiwan.
Taiwan has faced increasing pressure from China in the years since Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was elected president. China has poached several of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and sent military planes and ships toward the nation on a near-daily basis. It also held large-scale drills modeling a blockade and simulated strikes on important targets in Taiwan twice within the past year.
Speaking at a public forum in Taipei, former US Marine Corps Forces Pacific commander Steven Rudder said the US wants to be part of the defense capabilities of Taiwan and bolster its supply chain resilience.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
He also emphasized how critical the nation’s position is for security.
“For the Asia-Pacific, I would offer there’s not another more important area in the world to maintain peace,” Rudder told the Taiwan-US Defense Industry Forum. “So [when] you hear ‘a free and open Indo-Pacific,’ this is a small part of ensuring that shared vision remains intact.”
“We want to be part of the self-defense capabilities of Taiwan,” he said.
Rudder said the visit was within the US’ multiple agreements with China and laws related to Taiwan, such as the Taiwan Relations Act, which requires Washington to ensure Taiwan can defend itself.
The legislation was enacted decades ago when the US first recognized China and broke off official diplomatic relations with Taipei.
The event was cohosted by trade groups from Taiwan and the US as the public-facing portion of the defense contractors’ visit.
Although it was unclear whether the groups would sign specific deals, Chinese-language media reported that the US was looking at cooperation in production of certain products.
Part of that cooperation would seek to ensure that both sides can work together to use the weapons systems Taiwan bought alongside the nation’s self-produced defense capabilities.
Washington is Taiwan’s largest unofficial partner and the supplier of a vast majority of is defense purchases.
“I’ll say it very simply: The endgame is joint interoperability,” Rudder said.
A group of about 20 people protested outside.
“American warmongers are a scourge on Taiwan,” one of their banners read.
“They sell all sorts of outdated ammunition to Taiwan and make tens of billions of US dollars from Taiwan every year,” said David T. Chien (錢達), vice chair of the Blue Sky Action Alliance, which supports unification with China.
From 6am on Tuesday to 6am yesterday, 27 Chinese warplanes and a drone flew toward Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The drone encircled Taiwan proper, while seven Chinese navy vessels sailed the waters close by, the ministry said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique